Jane Blow: Painter / Sculptor

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Have you ever dreamed of flying freely through outer space, _
surrounded by a sea of stars? Mae Jemison fulfilled that dream.
On September 12, 1992, aboard the spaceship Endeavour, she
became the first African-American woman to blast into outer
space. This wasn’t the only time, however, that Jemison had
reached for the stars and realized her dreams.



Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama,
but she grew up in Chicago, Illinois. There weren’t many wellknown
African-American female role models while Jemison was
growing up, but she didn’t let that stop her from achieving her
goals. She was especially interested in anthropology, archaeology
and astronomy. Luckily, her parents encouraged those interests.
That encouragement drove her to excel. She graduated from high
school at 16! Then she earned degrees in chemical engineering
and African-American studies at Stanford University. Later, she
graduated from Cornell University’s medical school. No challenge
was too great for Jemison to take on.



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Jemison’s accomplishments did not end there. In 1981, she joined
NASA’s space program in Houston, Texas. And in 1988, Jemison
realized her biggest dream: She finally became an astronaut! Just
four years later, she was named science mission specialist (another
NASA first) on an Endeavour flight.



Today, Jamison encourages young people—especially women
and girls—to study the sciences. Her life example teaches us to _
follow our dreams, no matter how great.